You are reading

Indoor Dining and Gyms Likely to be Shuttered In Next Week or Two: De Blasio

(Stock Unsplash)

Nov. 19, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Indoor dining will likely end and gyms will likely close in the next week or two as New York City looks to combat a second wave of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday morning.

The closures will come if New York City enters a state-mandated “orange zone,” which would go into effect if the city breaches a seven-day average positivity rate of 3 percent for 10 days, as determined by the state.

De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo have both warned that the city is close to hitting that benchmark.

“The governor made clear yesterday that it’s just a matter of time before indoor dining will close,” de Blasio said, adding that he spoke at length with Cuomo yesterday.

De Blasio said it’s not a matter of ‘if’ the city will enter an orange zone, but ‘when.’

“It’s not ‘if,’ it’s ‘when’,” he said. “By any normal count — just looking at the state’s own number system — we’re talking a week or two before we’re in that orange zone status. I’m sorry to say that, but that’s the blunt truth.”

New York City will enter an orange zone if the seven-day rolling average positivity rate is above 3 percent by state metrics — which differ from city metrics — for 10 days.

Cuomo said the city was at a seven-day positivity rate of 2.5 percent during a press conference yesterday.

Orange zone restrictions — the midrange level among the state’s designated red, orange and yellow zones — mandate the closure of indoor dining and high-risk nonessential businesses like gyms and personal care services.

Houses of worship in orange zones are also capped at a third of their capacity and schools are closed — although de Blasio has already closed public schools due to the city metrics for the positivity rate hitting 3 percent.

“Those restrictions are coming,” the mayor warned. “It’s just a matter of time. It’s very likely going to be in the next week or two.”

(NY State presentation via Gov. Cuomo press conference)

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Kew Gardens Hills tenant charged with murder of her building super in rent dispute: DA

A Kew Gardens Hills woman is criminally charged with murder for allegedly killing her building superintendent, who was trying to collect tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent on behalf of the landlord, inside her apartment Tuesday. She is accused of beating the super to death with a metal pipe and hiding his body wrapped in garbage bags beneath a bed.

Sandra Coto-Navarro, 48, faces up to 25 years to life in prison after she was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court just before midnight on Thursday.

NYC’s undocumented subway vendors: Struggles, survival and the fear of deportation

Jan. 17, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

It is a typical Tuesday evening in the Times Square—42 St subway station. Subway trains continue their ceaseless beat across the city while commuters dart in every direction to catch their rides. Amid this chaotic labyrinth of underground passages and platforms, newly arrived immigrants line the walkways, selling candy and fruit in a determined effort to carve out a living.